Care Enough To Send
by zoe han
Summary: After a meeting with Linwood, Lilah returns to her office to find Gavin waiting with a sympathetic token (after "Benediction")


Title: Care Enough To Send  
Author: Zoe Han  
Disclaimer: Characters property of Mr. Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, etc  
Notes: Lilah and Gavin competitiveness (Lilah's PoV)  
Spoilers: takes place just after "Benediction"

Lilah opened her office door, and there he was, again, with that smirk on his face making Lilah wonder if Gavin was anticipating her to be his proverbial canary. Finding out how Gavin always seemed to know when Linwood had summoned her to his office was something she had long ago decided to give up. Wolfram and Hart's employees had their own various ways of spying on each other, looking out for any way to get ahead. It was a tactic promoted by the executives at the firm who deemed cutthroat competition as part of a healthy work ethic. 

"You know, every time I turn around there you are," Lilah smiled sweetly, "But you know, next time, you might want to take notes when studying a pro."

She was hoping for an irritated expression to cross his face, but instead, he began to slowly pace around the room, smile still in tact. There didn't seem to be a set of designated buttons to push when it came to Gavin, which was a pity after having toyed so much with Lindsey. The spark of irritation in his eyes or the gruff sound of annoyance in his voice from one of her quips gave her ego a boost. It was a bit of a thrill to get under the skin of Holland's Golden Boy. Yet, Gavin always kept a cool head and had mastered that smug look he was wearing at the moment. She made a mental note to herself to install a picture of him on her computer's stress relief program. She began to feel a little better thinking about taking the chainsaw icon to his headshot.  
  
"What's the matter, Gavin? Little slow in finding the door?" 

He was still pacing; no it was more inspecting. 

" Just thought I'd get an idea about the square footage in here. I'm thinking about putting an entertainment system in this corner."

Lilah crossed her arms, a gesture that came quite naturally these days.

Gavin's eyes did spark, but with mischief.

"You know what they say, out with the old, in with the competent."

"And just what makes you"

"You took out Billy Miles, you lost Angel's son you've had a busy year, Lilah, with nothing to show for it. Now that the boy's back, we're all waiting to see what's going to go wrong this time, and given your track record, something's bound to go wrong."

Yes, she definitely hated Gavin Park.

Lilah strode towards him, nonchalantly, but with a menacing air, intending to navigate him towards the door.

"Listen, Gavin, as much as I enjoy playtime with you, I'm sure you have someone's lunch money to go steal while the grown-ups do some work. And when I get promoted for dancing circles around you, you can have this office.. that is, if you're ever going to be ready to play in the majors, assuming you're not the victim of some untimely, brutal accident," at that last remark, Lilah could feel her face light up. There was nothing like the feeling of warm fuzzies at times.

She opened the door for him. Gavin followed her motion obligingly, but stopped for just a moment on his way out and handed her a cream colored envelope. 

"What's this?" she asked.

"Oh, just a little something to show you how much I care," Gavin said, continuing in the direction of the elevator.

With her curiosity piqued, Lilah opened the envelope behind the safety of her locked doors and the comfort of her desk. She slipped out a greeting card with a print of Renoir's La Balancoire on the cover. Leaning back in her chair, she flipped the card open. Her eyes narrowed, and her cheeks flushed with anger. She pitched the card across the room.

Lilah was already well on her way with her newest point of strategy. She had already taken the first few steps in trying to entice Wesley in using his resentment towards his former co-workers for revenge. She would figure out a way to crack that façade of apathy. Lilah was ready for the next step, but first, she searched her desk for this month's copy of the company newsletter which was sure to have a photo of Mr. Gavin Park. A little de-stressing was called for at the moment.

The card had fluttered a few feet from the desk, its contents splayed up towards the ceiling. Printed neatly in a brush-style font were the words, _I'll Miss You When You're Gone_, and below in conceited penmanship, _Your Friend, Gavin Park_.   


end  



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